Q: What should every entrepreneur know about how entrepreneurship will affect his/her family? What advise would you offer to the spouse of an entrepreneur?
A: Regardless of what we think, running a business involves your entire family and their support is key to your success. Running a business is like driving a car around mountain road banging into the guard rails. Guess what? Your spouse is in the back seat turn around and blind folded (knowing less where you are going then you do). Your business sleeps in bed with you every night! Entrepreneurship is tough on spouses and families. But if you can share the good and bad times with them, they will carry you far!
Many people believe that we need to separate out our personal and business lives. With all the tools available today, I think this is impossible. We need to learn to integrate them together with some safe havens in our lives where we do not do business at all.
Author: Jeff Cornwall
Dr. Jeff Cornwall is the inaugural Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Dr. Cornwall's current research and teaching interests include entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurial ethics.
You need to be a little crazy?Networking is not a verb
Q: Barry, you argue against something that many entrepreneurs are taught from day one, that is, the value of networking. Why do you think that networking, as it has become known in our business culture is basically a pointless activity?
A: Too many people think that networking is sticking out your right hand to shake another person’s hand and simultaneously giving them your business card. Immediately, they say who they are and what they want or are looking for. Real relationships are built over a long period of time. You need to build trust capital or relationship capital and that takes time and effort. Don’t try to trade on relationships too soon. Always ask what you can do for that person before asking for yourself. As Tim Sanders says. “be a lovecat” but connecting people of like interests together.
You need to be a little crazy?my thoughts on this book
The Business Book Blog Tour has arrived!
Barry Moltz has put together an honest and revealing look at entrepreneurship. He has peeled back the onion and shows us some of the issues that entrepreneurs face that are not in text or how-to books. This is entrepreneurship in the raw!
Continue reading You need to be a little crazy?my thoughts on this book
Business Book Blog Tour stops here tomorrow
Please stop by tomorrow. This site will host the Business Book Blog Tour. For a preview go to today’s stop at Ensight.
The Language of Business
Whenever I talk to entrepreneurs, serve as their consultant, or teach them in my classes I always have one consistent message. They have to become financially literate to improve their chances of success in their ventures. In fact, I believe this so strongly that I wrote a book on the topic! Bradley Feld has written a summary of some of what he believes are the key aspects of sound financial management for entrepreneurs. Most of what he writes is right on target.
Exiting your entrepreneurial venture: seller beware
There is an excellent article by an entrepreneur named Alan J. Smith over at Kauffman Foundation?s EntreWorld web site on what lessons he learned from exiting his own business. One cannot over emphasize the importance of planning ahead for an exit, being fully educated about the options and their consequences, and being fully engaged in the actual exit process.
Continue reading Exiting your entrepreneurial venture: seller beware
Dr. Smolira on Cash flow: The Game
Dr. Smolira has an insightful critique of the cash flow board game at his web log. Check it out!
Business Book blog tour
Come and visit the first stop of the Business Book Blog Tour. Barry Moltz is visiting A Penny For… today.
Can a public corporation have a conscience?
Professor Bainbridge makes an interesting post in light of our discussion at this site on the differences between publicly held and privately owned businesses. While I have argued that entrepreneurs can, and should, integrate their values into their businesses, Professor Bainbridge argues that a public corporation is not a moral actor and cannot be held responsible as an entity.
Business Book Blog Tour
Come one and come all! Join in the business book blog tour next week. This segment of the tour will be featuring Barry Moltz’s book “You Need to be a Little Crazy”. The tour will visit the Entrepreneurial Mind on Thursday, February 5th. Barry will be making stops at my site throughout the day to join in the discussion on his book and his premise that you need to be a little crazy to be an entrepreneur. It should be great fun! For all of the stops on this book tour next week, visit this site.